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Cook Statement on Western Hemisphere Language Included in FY19 NDAA

May 11, 2018

Press Release

Washington, D.C. – Today, Rep. Paul Cook (CA-08), Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, released a statement on the inclusion of his language in the FY19 National Defense Authorization Act, which was approved in Committee this week. Cook’s language provides more funding for U.S. counternarcotics support in the region, strengthens Congressional oversight of the Defense Department’s engagement with the Western Hemisphere, and increases U.S. efforts to address potential threats from Iran, China, Russia, and North Korea, transnational criminal groups, and terrorist organizations in the region.

Chairman Cook: “U.S. military partnerships with Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and other key Latin American countries are critical to advancing regional security. The U.S. should remain the top defense partner of choice for the region, and I am firmly committed to working with the Trump Administration, colleagues in Congress, and regional leaders to ensure that we continue to build on our strong defense partnerships to achieve greater security successes together. The violence fueled by the illicit activities of criminals and state-sponsored terrorists undermines democracy and regional stability, and I want to see these organizations dismantled and the criminals brought to justice. We must do more with our partners to achieve results, especially related to drug trafficking, which is destabilizing the region and contributing to the suffering of Americans.”

*NOTE: Chairman Cook’s Western Hemisphere language can be found HERE and HERE.